The House of Representatives ratified Wednesday night a bicameral committee report on a bill seeking to grant pardon to employers who have failed to remit the mandatory contribution of their employees to the Social Security System (SSS).

The proposed measure, “The SSS Condonation Act of 2009,” authorizes the SSS to grant a one-time condonation of penalties and interest payments of delinquent employers, and provides installment options for those who would like to settle their arrears over a period of four years.

Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, one of the bill’s principal authors, described the measure as a “triple mini-stimulus package” because, according to him, it will help not just employers but also the SSS and most importantly workers in the private sector.

Tañada co-authored the bill with House Deputy Speakers Raul del Mar and Amelita Villarosa.

Tañada said the bill would provide companies which for the most part have been hard-up a mechanism to pay their delinquent principal payments minus the staggering penalties slapped on them and which have accumulated through the years.

The planned condonation program, Tañada said, would also enable SSS to beef up its fund.

By providing breathing space for troubled companies, Tañada said the measure would actually help SSS to immediately collect more than P50 billion of some P95 billion overdue principal payments which would otherwise be difficult to collect.

He said the program would also ensure that ordinary and privately employed individuals can avail of full benefits for SSS members in good standing.

“In light of (storms) Ondoy and Pepeng which brought devastation to a lot of areas in the country, it is important that the benefits of SSS members such as calamity, housing and other loan packages be made available,” Tañada said.

“That can only happen if payments are now considered up-to-date. This bill hopes to do that. The President should sign this into law at the soonest possible time,” he added.

According to Tañada, a lot of troubled companies choose not to pay what SSS demands of them because the penalties that have accumulated are actually bigger than the principals that they should have paid.

The Liberal Party solon said that of the P325.5 billion collectible by SSS as of May 31, 2008, P230.82 billion is accounted for by penalties and only P94.6 billion comprise principal payments that are current.

He noted that past SSS condonation experience would show that on the average, 60 percent of those with accumulated principal payments chose to settle what is due in outright cash.

Under the measure, those who will opt to settle by installment will still have to shell out at least five percent of its total contribution delinquency, the balance of which the employer can pay for up to 48 months bearing a three percent per annum interest.

Employers with pending cases because of their delinquency can avail of the condonation program upon approval and payment in full or in installments of contributions due and payable to SSS and have these cases withdrawn. However, this is without prejudice to the re-filing of the case in the event the employer fails to remit in full the required delinquent contributions or defaults in the payment of any installment under the approved measure.